The Craving
by TheRealRogue
Summary: ROMY (Rogue and Gambit). They satisfy each other's cravings; but beyond the physical, Remy wants to know more about this elusive girl. God, it's hard to write summaries without giving too much stuff away. But as always, reviews are welcome.
1. Chapter 1: Sugar

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men!

Chapter 1: Sugar.

Rogue didn't take the mechanical stairs, but she hurried her way up the regular ones, soon emerging to the surface from the metro station. Most of the people around were probably heading home after a long day of work or study, carrying grocery bags or concentrated in their phones as they walked; she had something else on mind, though, on mind and everywhere else.

The building was only a couple blocks away, a 1950's piece of architecture she already knew very well. She pressed the intercom button of the apartment she was going to. Once, twice, then a third time. Nothing. She had to lose her stupid cell phone two days before, when in a mission with the X-Men, she cleverly decided to put it in the back pocket of her pants. It didn't matter, she'd show up without previous notice. She didn't think he'd have a problem with that.

This was a part of the city she didn't come to a lot, so she didn't think anyone around here would know her; not that she knew a lot of people or was too popular, but that familiar sensation of having to hide, of having to be sneaky and cautious, made her stay close to the building's entrance, trying to remain unseen in the shadows as people passed by. She took a look at her watch: almost 9 pm. Her heart pounded faster when someone approached and opened the entrance door.

"Ah forgot mah keys, thanks" she attempted a smile at the guy who let her pass, but didn't look at him for long; it was better not to.

They were nine floors up. She took the stairs.

Not a sound in the hallway, not even from the other apartment doors. And there were no windows either. She rang the doorbell several times, but then again, no one seemed to be home.

"Damn yah" she murmured, already knowing that either way, she'd wait for him.

(…)

11 pm and she was sitting on the floor, her back against the wall and her knees up to her chest. Her hands felt a little sweaty as well as the back of her neck, even if the air wasn't hot in there. She tried to focus on the sound her fingertips made when tapping repeatedly a clasp of her bag. It was no use, though, to try to direct her attention to something else.

A young couple had emerged from the elevator a while back, then entered one of the apartments. So when she heard the elevator doors opening up again, she half expected it just to be someone else, some random people, while her other half prayed for it to be him. Craved for it.

" _Chere_?"

"Hey" she greeted, quickly getting on her feet.

"What y' doin' here?" he smirked at her, getting closer. She felt all light and heavy at the same time when having him in front of her again, in his trench coat, jeans and henley t-shirt. She loved his confidence, his smell, how tall he was, those magnetic eyes of him, and God bless his scruffy stubble and scruffy everything else.

"Ah lost my phone and couldn't call yah" she said, holding on to her bag. "Is this a bad time?"

" _Non,_ never a bad time for y'! I was just comin' home for a sec and then go out again, but a visit from y' enough t' change anyone's plans, y' know dat?"

Her insides became something melted and hot at the sound of his raspy voice. Always a sweet talker, always charming her ears and adding fuel to the flames.

She only smiled, so he kept talking:

"If y' want we can…"

And then he couldn't talk no more, when she jumped on him and pressed her lips against his, her legs wrapped around him.

Remy didn't lose his balance, holding her by her left thigh and kissing her as well. Maybe this shouldn't be much of a surprise, but in a way, it always was. However, right then he didn't feel much like analyzing the facts or wondering stuff. It was only the two of them and the heat that engulfed them into the desire of ripping their clothes off as soon as possible.

With his free hand, he searched for the keys in his pockets.

"Lookin' for this?" she showed him the keys she already had in her hand.

"Y' got talent for stealin', _Cherie_ " he took them and went to open the door: "Remy'd say y're a natural".

"Yah can show me your talents too" she whispered, lightly brushing his ear with her lips as she pronounced the words. A shiver ran down his spine like an electric discharge.

The lock finally gave in so he pushed the door open:

" _Bien sur_ , but only 'cause y' ask me nice".

They entered and he kicked the door closed, as the keys went to fall on the floor with a clatter.

(…)

The sheets of his bed always smelled so good; she could feel their softness on the left side of her face, while she let go off the portion of the mattress, she had been holding on to with her right hand. The warmth of his breath close to her ear, his body still pressed against her… and her own breathing still going fast as well; it would take few minutes for it to reach its regular pace.

However, she wouldn't wait for it.

Remy saw her crawling forwards, looking for something among the messy bedcover and sheets.

"Y' in a hurry, _chere_?" he asked, propping himself of on an elbow.

After some more rummaging, she finally found her panties, which she slid on quickly.

"Yeah, kind of".

Her bra was on the nightstand, in a pile along with his t-shirt, some scattered poker cards and an empty package of condoms.

"Y' got anythin' to do?"

"In fact, yeah".

"At four a.m.?"

"Ah gotta get up early, Sugah, would yah please fix the strap there? Tighten it up a bit?"  
She sat back on the bed with her back to him, bringing her auburn hair to a side, over her shoulder, so he could have easy access to the troublesome strap. He sat up and did as she asked, more focused in how beautifully perfect her back, neck and shoulders were, than on the task at hand.

"'Kay like this?"

She straightened up and fixed the front of the bra a little: "Yeah, that's good, thanks."

Seconds later, her jeans were also in place. Then, she bent over to put her shoes on.

"I can give y' a ride. 'S a little late, don't y' think?" he suggested, then watched her walk around, searching through.

"It's okay."

Not on the floor, on the bed or tangled somewhere, so where was it?"

"Lookin' for this?" he was the one to say this time, handing her the gray top.

"Thanks" she smiled cheekily.

He lied back on the bed, hands underneath his neck, to witness what was left of her getting dressed process: the top, the leather jacket, the knitted scarf and then, her bag over her shoulder. Then, she took a glimpse at herself on the mirror, in a not very successful attempt at combing her hair with her fingers.

Then, she turned around to face one more time the naked Cajun lying there:

"Ah know the way out, so-"

"Y' sure y' don't want a ride? My bike's in the parkin' lot, I can..."

"Ah'm sure. Bye."

"Alright" he nodded: "See y'."

He heard her steps in the hallway, then in the living room, next the door being opened and closed.

And she was gone. Again.

Remy lied there for another while, still staring at the door frame she had just disappeared through. He exhaled some air and went to pick up a cigarette from one of the drawers. He let out a skeptic chuckle before lighting it up.

 **Note: Hello! All right, first of all, I must say that there's no particular reason why this new fic also starts with sex, just like my previous one XD It's just a coincidence. I just had the idea for this story on my mind and well, it had to start this way. Also, this kind of scenes, I don't plan to make them too explicit, because, well, I don't want to; and I want to keep this rated T, so let your imagination fly with that, hehe. And this might be another one of my weird fics, but I pledge alliance to the motto of this website: "Unleash your imagination". So I think, maybe I'm a bit embarrassed of this type of fics, but then again, maybe it's my mind I should be embarrassed of, 'cause it comes from there XD However, I have fun with it, so let's just let it flow. Thanks for reading and remember to review!**


	2. Chapter 2: Liquor

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men!

Chapter 2: Liquor.

Even when the make-up had faded away from them, her lips remained flushed, in a peachy-reddish color he had kissed over and over again, and that had kissed him back, avidly and thoroughly. To be near that woman, to be able to touch her and merge with her, put him into this sort of intoxication that lingered in him for days.

It was her smooth skin and playful smile.

Her round hips and small waist.

Green eyes and long hair with the white bangs.

The way she made love like there was no tomorrow.

It was, indeed, like being drunk, with her.

She had this tiny birthmark in her ribcage, on the left side, and another one on her right buttock, and…

"…Remy?" his brother's voice dragged him back to reality: "Y' heard one word I said? At least one word?"

Remy gulped down the last sip of bourbon from the glass, then put it back on the bar:

" _Oui, oui, ça sera trop facile_. We get there, make a distraction, get the thing an' high tail. Piece of cake if y' ask me, no need to go over it hundred times".

Henri LeBeau kept on chewing the toothpick in his mouth:

" _D'accord_ , but y' know this an important gig." Then, he gave Remy a wary look: "What's with y'?"

"What y' mean?" he shrugged.

"I mean y' should be narrowin' down the details of this thing, tellin' me my plan blows an' comin' up with a better one, but instead y've been there not givin' a shit. _Allons, c'est quoi ça_?"

Remy had never been one to talk about the women he'd been with, with no one, not even (or let alone) with his brother: you know, real men don't kiss and tell. But he needed to get this off of his chest. So he gestured to the barman for another round, and moments later they had two more glasses filled with the liquor of gods.

Somewhere in the background, people were playing pool, and the sound of the pool balls and cues got mixed in the air with country music and indistinct conversations.

" _C'est une fille_ " Remy said at last, shaking his glass slightly and having a look through the amber liquid against the dim light.

"A girl?" Henri chortled: "What about 'er? She playin' hard to get?"

"Funny y' say that, 'cause that's the thing: she ain't. But at the same time… she is".

The other guy's baffled and mocking expression made Remy wonder if he should just shut up; after all, Henri's brain wasn't suited for much more than stealing with half decent skills and eating gumbo all by himself.

"This gonna be a good one. Can y' translate that, _s'il te plait_?"

"I'll try" Remy took a sip from his drink: "She's gorgeous, man. She a woman y' see and y' can't even believe she's real".

"Alrigth, that part's clear" Henri took out the toothpick and spit on the floor; then, kept on chewing it: "Go on".

"I've seen 'er four, five times only." He counted them inside his mind: the time they met, that other time, and then that other one and… _"Oui,_ five times. Last time was few days ago, on Thursday".

His brother nodded. Then, raised his brows: "So?"

"So…" He wasn't fond of saying these things, but if he didn't talk about it with someone, it'd eat him up: "We've... gone to bed every time".

"Course" Henri chuckled. "Then, what? She's stalking y' like that other girl, the blonde one?"

" _Non, au contraire:_ she just shows up like a bat outta hell, we do it, then she's gone".

Now Henri was completely puzzled: "An' that's a problem?" he laughed with his drunko wacko laugh: "Sorry, but that sound more like bloody heaven to me! Y're livin' the dream!"

"Could be" he took out a package of cigarettes from an inner pocket of his trench coat. " _Mais_ … isn't it weird? She hasn't even given me her phone number, I asked her for it an' she just dodged the question an' said ' _Don't worry, I'll call y'_ ".

At the sound of this, Henri laughed even harder, even punching the bar with his fist. Remy just looked away; this is what he got for trusting anything to this dumbass. When the man could finally take his breath back, he spoke:

" _Désolé,_ but y' have just made my day. Remy: ain't this the kind of stuff we always do? Most guys do, anyway? So, let a girl do it, for once, let 'er be free an'… enjoy herself _an'_ get some Cajun lovin', y' know they always come back for more".

"Yeah and I'm sure _tante_ Mattie would call us _chauvinist pigs_ if she heard us right now".

"Bless her" Henri looked up and made the sigh of the cross over his chest.

Remy went back to the actual path of the conversation:

"But, problem is: I do want to know 'er. Talk to 'er, see? We haven't even talked much".

"Wait, wait, wait, wait: y' want to get to know a girl y' already slept with? An' not just to do it again, but just… because?"

"That pretty much sums it all up, yeah. Y' not as stupid as y' make yourself look, Henri".

" _Ta gueule_ " he shook his head: "Now, the big bucks question be: why in the hell?"

Remy took a drag of his cigarette, not even sure about how to respond to that. As usual, maybe the most obvious and easiest answer was the true one:

"I just like her. I just… want to know more about 'er and see her more often, that's another thing: I always gotta wait ages to see her again".

"What y' mean ages? Weeks?"

"I wish, _non_ : months! Three, four, five, I don't even know how many. Always a long wait".

"Maybe she's married" Henri suggested, and when seeing Remy's frown, he continued: " _Oui_ , maybe y're her escape from a boring married life, y' know? Wouldn't be the first time y' bump into that sorta stuff".

" _Non_ , don't think so. She's too young to be married".

"How old she?"

"How would I even know?!" Remy left the glass empty with one last sip: "Told y' I know nothin' 'bout 'er."

"'Cept for her favorite positions, _hein_?" Henri elbowed him and let out another guffaw.

"I knew this was a bad idea" Remy put out the cigarette on an ashtray there and got up.

"Hey, hey, whoa, y're way too snappish about this".

" _Non_ , y' know what I'll do?" he placed a bill on the bar: "I'll find 'er".

"'kay, y' can go chase 'er, marry her, do whatever y' want, but don't forget our thing tomorrow, 'kay? Let's focus and do this job first and then y' can go and play Romeo if y' want, alright? _Alright?_ "

Remy just nodded, gave a pat on the back to his brother and walked out of there.

"Damn" Henri took his glass and drank some more bourbon: "Who's this guy an' where's the Remy I know at?"

 **Note: Hi! I had to make Remy talk about this with someone, and since he doesn't know the X-Men, it had to be his brother. I hope it doesn't sound like he's "kissing and telling", you know? That's not my intention, or his. Also, Henri doesn't know Rogue and I tried Remy not to say details or anything. So, let's see what happens next! ;-) Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3: Thirst

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men!

Chapter 3: Thirst.

The first group, made up by Storm and Kitty, got off the black van and walked away. They all were in civilian clothes, in an attempt to go as unnoticed as possible for a bunch of so called mutant superheroes.

"Team two, get ready and remember: we want to make this clean, quick and quiet." Scott said from the driver's seat, as he parked a block away from the place they had just dropped off the other two. "Keep that on mind, Logan".

"Can't promise anything… _dad_ " Wolverine huffed: "Come on, kid".

Rogue jumped out of the van and found herself on the sidewalk of a street packed with extra high silver and grey buildings. As the van drove away in the opposite direction with team three in it, that is, Scott and Kurt, Logan and Rogue started heading towards the place, blending in with the people that hurried their ways as well.

"So how'll we know who he is?"

"I've smelt him" Logan let her know: "Would recognize that stench anywhere".

"Really? Yah know him?" she asked, having no problem in keeping up with his fast pace.

"Once, when I was gathering some info about that Sentinels' program. Guess I fell short, 'cause now it's either we keep that chip away from him, or we'll have tin men a mile tall, knocking on our door by dinner time".

Rogue zipped up her jacket; she knew better than accomplishing a mission in a "clean, quick and quiet" way, especially when working shoulder to shoulder with Logan.

To enter Grand Central Terminal always felt new, like stepping into the vestibule of a different world. The air, the sounds and the light around completely changed, when traversing the main gates and hitting yourself in the face with this atmosphere of buzz, of moving around fast and lives that connect among each other, just as train lines do. It was the rush hour, almost 6 p.m., so the amount of people coming and going wasn't small.

She heard Logan sniffing a couple times, then followed him down the stairs and straight towards the hallway that began over there, at the bottom.

It was a labyrinth of doorways, stairs and mainly, of people of all kinds. However, he seemed to know very well where he was heading to, so she just let him lead the way. Maybe finding the guy would be the easy part, after all.

They reached a crowded platform, and this is when Logan finally spoke:

"Right behind me, 'bout fifty feet away". He looked up at the screens with the train schedules: "Black coat, mustache, briefcase".

Rogue got her new cell phone out of a pocket and pretended to type on it. Next, began to slowly walk away from Logan, in the direction of the man they were after, so they could corner him when the time came.

She put on the most innocent look on her face she had in her repertoire, as she passed people by without looking up from the phone. She giggled, like she was reading something funny there, and then took a look towards the front.

There he was, briefcase, mustache and all.

Luckily, their eyes never met, as he kept on searching for something or someone among the crowd. She walked past him and stopped by a little further. Logan was still engaged in his figure out train schedules act.

The fake typing and pointless scrolling down continued, when, with the corner of her eye, she noticed the guy seemed to have found who he was looking for. It all happened really fast: someone approached him, they faced each other for a second or two and then the newcomer was gone, quickly getting lost in the crowd, right when the resonance of an approaching train started to fill the space.

Mustache guy would probably want to take that train.

They wouldn't let him.

She started to move in his direction, with the purpose of taking away the thing he had exchanged for the briefcase. It should be easy: a little touch from her bare hands would do it.

But before she could take more than two steps… right then, it felt like they happened at the same time, but of course the sound of some sort of explosion came first, soon followed by people stampeding out in every direction, with Rogue losing her objective from sight, lost among countless backs and heads and coats and frightened faces. She couldn't see the source of the blast either, but as the platform started empty, something by her right side exploded again, sending her butt first to the ground, inches away from the track.

This wasn't a part of the plan, but her gut told her this wasn't a part of mustache guy's plan either.

Smoke and dust surrounded her, as she got back on her feet. It had been a vending machine, the one that had blown up, but…

" _Cherie_?"

Her breathing stopped right off, air getting stuck in her throat as something inside of her tumbled down the floor like a handful of marbles.

She turned around, petrified.

How this little routine mission became this bizarre display of explosions and meeting face to face with the last person she'd expect to, or want to, was beyond her.

There was a bit of surprise in his red on black eyes, and that half smirk she knew way too well, was hanging from his lips.

"Wh- what are yah doin' here?" she stuttered.

He came closer to her: "Waitin' for the train, mebbe" he raised a brow when saying this, so of course he didn't really mean it. There was something else behind this.

Her lips parted to speak, but she wasn't able to. Her real, normal life (as far as these adjectives can be applied to superheroing around for a living), colliding, bumping right into… him.

This just wasn't supposed to happen. Ever.

"You know this punk?"

He heart skipped yet another beat when seeing Logan right by her side.

And of course she knew she had to lie through her teeth and assure that she had never seen this guy in her entire life, but he spoke first, taking a step forward and presenting his hand to her:

" _Non_ , but I'd love to, yer name's…?"

"Quit it!" Logan stepped between the two of them: "What do you have to do with all of this? And you better start talking now".

" _Mon ami_ , dunno what y're talkin' 'bout, was just passin' by".

The smoke around them got even denser, but then it wasn't smoke anymore. It was fog. In few seconds, Rogue couldn't see anyone or anything anymore.

"X-Men" she heard Storm's voice: "We must retire".

"Don't think so, 'Ro, this creep here… where the hell did he go?!"

"We must retire to the check point. Without delay".

Rogue wouldn't stay there to either convince Logan to leave or, even worst, to help him find Remy, whatever was the reason he had to go after him. She might get a lecture about team work later on, but anyway, she wanted to get out of there as soon as possible so she started to move in this white sea that engulfed everything and almost made you think you were blind. Soon, she found the entrance of a hallway and after that, the huge vestibule of the station. Some policemen were trying to put order, as people kept pushing their way through the exit door.

The check point was four blocks away, heading north. She was pretty much running down the street, putting as much distance as possible between herself and that hallucination of a moment, back there in the platform.

Finally, she reached the black van and hopped on it. She sank in her seat, still dubious to what had just happened.

Few moments later, Scott, Nightcrawler and Logan showed up, and with that, they took off to an almost hour long trip back home, plagued with the reconstruction of facts from their different perspectives. It appeared that, indeed and as Rogue and Logan had witnessed, Trask had received the chip. But at some infinitesimal point and in the middle of the explosions, it had been taken away from him against his will.

"That guy had something to do, I bet on it" Logan said. Rogue was the only one to know which guy he was talking about, because no one else had seen him.

As discussions about what to do next went on, she looked out the window and had to wonder if Logan was right. If Remy had something to do with the explosion and the chip getting robbed. She didn't know much about him, but he certainly didn't seem like the guy that appeared out of nowhere in the middle of a mess, just by coincidence.

All of a sudden, she realized she was thirsty, like she was just now returning to her body after a jump out of your skin moment. She pulled out a bottle of water and took large sips. It was cold and when tasting it, some sort of relieve washed through her. She was away from him now, back to normal. It had just been a tiny portal that briefly opened up between the two worlds of her life, but now it was closed again and for good.

Right?

(…)

In a shadowed tunnel, somewhere in the depths of the Terminal, he met up with his brother.

"Y' got it?"

"'Course, Remy! Now we deliver this gizmo an' we can take the month off. _En plus,_ we can take the rest of the year off!"

As appealing as thirty grand (each) sounded, while they made their way out of there, Remy's mind was somewhere else. And he murmured something to himself:

"X-Men, _hein_?"

 **Note: Hi there! I want to say that as you can see, I'm relating the titles of the chapters to food and the like. Why? Because the fic is called "The craving" and even though we're not talking about a craving for food (ehem) I thought it'd allow me to use a set of descriptive food related terms, that also have something to do with the content of a chapter itself (or it's just a mixture of food and sex, lol. I'm sorry if this sounds weird, I'm just kidding). Also, I've been to New York City only once, last year, and for this chapter I wanted to use a place I have actually been to, so I thought Grand Central Station would be good. Amazing place. Well, everything in NYC is amazing. And finally, as you can see with Logan calling Scott "dad", I take more the approach of the 90's animated series with those two, rather than the one from Evolution where it's more like Logan is everyone's dad. One last thing: I think it's obvious, but I want to point out that Rogue is able to control her absorption power. This ramble aside, I hope you guys enjoyed the chap and please drop me a review! Thanks for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4: Sweet

Disclaimer: Don't own the X-Men!

Chapter 4: Sweet.

One would think that locating a secret superhero organization's headquarters would represent an intricate task, but for Remy, it was even easier than he had expected. Breaking into some government sites, clicking on the right folders and couple hours later, he already knew the exact location of Rogue's home sweet home.

Now, all of this also brought up something interesting: she was a mutant, too. She had to be, if she was a part of this institute for the gifted or whatever. What are the odds, that two strangers with the mutant gene meet up for sex every once in a while?

"What your power, _chere_? What y' do, 'sides drivin' Remy _fou_?"

With the tip of one of the fingers his gloves left exposed, he lit up the corner of an ace of spades, but only for a second, making it go back to its usual state right away. He kept shuffling a deck of cards as he waited in this small forest, always sneaky, like the thief he was.

If he had been curious about Rogue before bumping into her in the train station, now it surprised him a whole lot to recognize himself in this state of fixation, that was new to him. Why her and not another one of the many women he had spent the night with? He got a partial answer for this, the first time his stalking observation finally bore fruits: two people emerged from the left, walking down the sidewalk there, behind the mess of trees and branches that hid him from view. They were two girls: a younger one, brunette and with a pony tail, but that's all he saw of her, because by her side, was Rogue.

There, in the middle of a freaking forest, he couldn't help to smirk when images of the nights they had spent together flooded his mind.

He wanted more of that. And more of everything related to her.

He saw them go all the way to a nearby grocery store, then back on their tracks to the ridiculous fortress they lived in. Of course no defense mechanisms that old shack could have, were nowhere near a match for him, but still, it'd be best to meet her outside. For now.

Several days passed and he didn't see her anymore, until one day, there she was again, with a scrawny guy that no way in hell could be her boyfriend or anything like that. Had she looked in his direction, for the split of a second? He couldn't be sure. Of course as days went by, cars and a black van would also come and go, but they all had smoked windows, so not a chance there.

Then, after a whole month of this surveillance shifts that he recognized were more suiting of a middle school kid than of a grown ass master thief, he saw her again. Alone.

He saved the deck of cards in a pocket and headed to the hiding spot of his bike.

There was a slight alteration in her pace, in her posture, when she heard the engine approaching. And when he was already by her side, she kept looking straight to the front for some moments, then, her eyes went to meet his, as she turned around warily.

" _Bon jour_."

She looked to both sides of the street before stopping by and letting out a simple "hi".

She seemed a bit defensive, but he guessed it was mostly because of the incident the other day at the terminal and her team mates. And the fact that they should keep this whole thing a secret, of course. Many reasons for the awkwardness in her, yes. But that wouldn't make him desist.

"Where y' goin', _chere_? Remy can give y' a ride, then we can go get dinner and, who knows?, maybe we can have breakfast too".

Ahh, there it was. Faint and hesitant, but it was certainly there: the little smile and teasing hint in her eyes that he knew so well.

"Well yah're straight forward, aren't yah?"

"Not more than y', _p'tite_ ".

She looked down and again, the little smile, but this time bigger, just a bit. She nodded and met his eyes again:

"True".

"So, what y' say? We go?"

Another glimpse towards the left, in the institute's direction, then she spoke:

"The other day, yah made those explosions, didn't yah?"

His ruby eyes were indecipherable for some moments:

"Guess we use our powers for different purposes."

They just kept studying each other's faces. Crazy how context changes everything between two people. Then, he tapped on the back seat of his bike: "Come on, _cherie_ , hop on".

She was about to say something but her expression changed when she saw a car approaching.

"Shit… Ah can't, some other time, 'kay?"

"Is it 'cause of those people y' live with?"

"No, well yeah, Ah mean…"

"Rogue?" the car had already pulled over and it was right besides Remy's bike: "Is everything all right?"

At least it wasn't Logan, but Colossus. That guy couldn't see a damsel in distress because he had to go all protective mode. Except Rogue wasn't exactly a damsel neither was she in distress.

"Yeah, thanks, Ah'm fine".

"Are you sure?"

He must have noticed her uneasiness, because he opened the car's door.

In his insides, Remy cursed that _crétin_. Those X-Men had to be the nosiest and most annoying people in the world.

"Remy, please leave".

The last thing he wanted was to make her uncomfortable, though it seemed he had already achieved that.

"Only 'cause y' ask for it, but I'll come back".

The bike roared and sped up, right when Piotr was by Rogue's side.

"Are you okay?" the big guy asked again.

"Yeah, it was just one of those guys, catcallers, yah know".

"Yes, and I know you can take care of yourself but…"

"Thanks, anyway".

He asked her if she wanted a ride ( _can't a girl take a walk?_ ) but she preferred to go by foot. The rest of her trip to and back from the grocery store, passed in a constant looking over her shoulder and a mental summing up of Remy's face, body, voice and words.

(…)

One day, Rogue ventured out of the mansion, by foot again. Kitty and Jean wanted to do some make-up shopping, so she decided she could tag along and get some for herself as well.

Two weeks had passed from their last encounter, but as she walked down the sidewalk, besides the little forest, Jean and Kit chit chatting by her side, she knew he was there. She couldn't see him, but maybe… maybe there were two intense red pupils fixated on her, insanely and disturbingly enough.

(…)

On a Friday afternoon, she exited the main gates of the mansion's lands. It wasn't too chilly that day, though the sky was mainly grey. She headed straight down the street, overcoming the four or five blocks that separated the institute from the forest, in less than ten minutes.

There was some grass there too, and benches, like a little park. She sat on one and pulled a book out of her bag. She placed it on her lap and started reading.

Well, if this wasn't an obvious invitation, then he didn't know what was.

Remy emerged from behind the trees and bushes that at this point, felt like his second home.

She heard him approach, of course, eyes still on the book, his steps getting closer and closer behind her back.

" _Chere"_ he let himself fall on the bench, besides her: "Look what y' make poor Remy go through". His right shoe was entirely covered in mud, up to the hem of his pants.

She closed the book; there was no bookmark:

"Well Ah didn't ask yah to creep on me like a complete psycho stalker".

"Y' right 'bout that, there are other ways, _bien sur._ For starters, y' could gimme your number".

The little smile. He loved it. It almost actually tasted sweet, just to see it.

"Yeah, that's what Ah wanted to talk to yah about".

"Ah, _oui_?"

"Yeah". Right then, it occurred to her that there is some kind of universal weirdness in having a full clothed conversation in a public place, with someone you barely know and that has seen you in your birth suit and in poses that are probably not even legal. "Yah gotta stop doin'… this thing yah're doin'."

"Couldn't agree more, but what Remy get in return?"

She crossed her arms over her chest and looked in the other direction, trying to hide her own cheekiness. Then, she looked back at him:

"What do yah have on mind?"

"Could give y' a list" he smirked: "But for now we could go for coffee or something".

She looked down and turned the book over on her lap, for no reason at all.

"Nah, yah're gonna stop this crazy stalkin' and then… Ah'll contact yah. Eventually". The WTF look on him, made her laugh: "What? Not used to a girl havin' the upper hand, sugah?"

" _Non_ , not that, I just don't know what we be waitin' for, or what we're tip toeing around. Y' married? Y' have a boyfriend, that guy the other day?"

"What?! No! Ah'm not married, Ah don't have… anyone. He's just a friend".

"'Kay, good to know" he conceded: "Then what is it?"

Then, what was it?

She had to stick to it:

"Ah know where yah live, okay? Ah'll just go there, one of these days".

She stood up and he did the same: "When?"

She shrugged: "Soon".

He had been curious; then, very interested; now, he was completely puzzled. Was it possible? Remy LeBeau, the expert in women, confused as hell by one?

"Alright, what if I'm with someone else then?" he threw a card on the table with that, but then again, hers was better:

"Ah'll just leave an' come back another day" she said this as carefree as it gets.

Huh.

"Do I have a choice?"

She smiled at him one more time:

"Bye, Remy" and walked away, back to the mansion.

"Bye."

He stared at her for a little while before going to get his bike.

 **Note: Okay, what do you guys think of this? Thanks for reading and please don't leave me here alone without a review (*Insert Shrek's sad cat*)**


	5. Chapter 5: Spices

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men!

Chapter 5: Spices.

It was somewhere between 2 and 3 am when he came out of the elevator, so he could call it an early night. The hallway was scarcely illuminated, which was normal, but then, something was off. He realized of it when he was in front of his apartment's door.

There wasn't a specific reason, an exact sign; more like an abstract hint of something missing, or opposite from that, something that shouldn't be there. But there was definitely a shift in the air, in the surface of the door and walls… something. Someone.

He opened the door as quietly as possible and closed it behind his back. Sure, whoever was there would be expecting him to arrive through that very door, but not even the concept of being defeated was in his book; if a fight was to come up, better getting to it sooner than later. And as usual, he was ready.

Nothing seemed out of place (the big couch, the TV, the stuff in the kitchen), he couldn't hear a sound; yet, the presence was still vivid and stronger. He pulled out a couple of cards as he headed to the hallway.

There wasn't much light around, but his eyes were more than used to darkness. And he didn't have to check in his bedroom or bathroom, because he knew it was the large room at the bottom.

He sharpened his ears; not a sound. But there would be, soon.

He pushed the door open and right away, one of his own bo staffs was swung in his direction, but he quickly dodged it, snatched it from his opponent and tossed it away, making it go tumbling down to the floor. Then, he was about to charge on the person and tackle him, but…

" _Mon Dieu!_ Rogue?!"

There she was, showing her palms in surrender, laughing in that clean, almost sparkling way she always did.

"Yeah, who did yah expect?"

"How y' got in here?! Why didn't y'… _diable_!" A faint light came from outside the window, and it was enough to see her green eyes clearly, framed by the white strands of her hair. "Sorry 'bout that, y' okay?"

"Yeah, Ah'm fine" she said, still with a smile… _the_ smile: "Yah?"

" _Bon_ , y' don't cease to amaze me, that for sure" he chuckled: "How y' got in here?"  
"Yah've got your tricks, AH've got mine." She took a look around the room and headed to a corner, where a bunch of other bo staffs were resting against the wall: "So this is your… gym?"

He'd still like to know how she actually got in there (with her powers, still unknown to him? Just picking the lock? He had made sure it was a thief proofed door, and that said a lot) but he put that aside because clearly, answering to his questions wasn't something she usually cared about. And also, he just wanted to see her; to talk to her, to drink on her presence because who knew how long it would last.

"Y' could call it that way, _oui_ ".

She was examining the bo staffs, one by one, with her back to him:

"Yah stopped spying on me" she said. It was hard to say if there was reproach in her voice, or just the statement of a fact.

"'Cause y' asked me to. Y' know Remy can't say _no_ to a lady, especially if that lady's y'".

He intuited the little smile in her, though he couldn't see it. Then, she took one of the bo staffs and turned around:

"Oh yeah?"

She started to slowly swing the object around, all the while looking into his eyes, half mock serious and half snickering. He smirked at the sight of this, his eyes savoring this vision.

"Is it like this?" she asked, while making an especially technique lacking move.

"Not quite, but I've seen worst. Could teach y' a thing or two. _Later_ ".

As an answer, she just raised her brows and gave him a nod. Next, she pointed the bo staff at him and approached, step by step, pinning him right in the center of his chest with it.

He didn't move.

He only stared at her like the apparition from another world she seemed to be, fully intriguing and appealing, inexplicable and inviting.

She pushed the bo staff a little harder against him.

"This is where y' say: _touché_ " he said in a low, raspy voice, already agonizing in desire at the sight of the mischievous expression in her eyes.

Her lips parted a tiny bit.

That was it.

He grabbed the bo staff and put it aside (again), then lifted her and pressed her against the wall, as they sank in a burning kiss.

(…)

"Hmmm… That's great…" Rogue sighed, lying on her stomach, stretching and shivering from time to time and from head to toes, as Remy's warm fingers traced invisible patterns on her bare back: from the back of her neck to her shoulder blades, then down her spine and on the small of her back, slowly, thoroughly, just brushing her lightly and not leaving unattended a single square inch.

"Your skin, _chere_ " he brushed his lips and jaw against her shoulder: "It's perfect, did y' know that? It's so pure, like a canvas".

She stared at him for a moment, then her eyes went to fall on the tattoo in his left shoulder:

"What's this about?" she propped herself up just a little, enough to run her fingers on the intricate design.

He shouldn't even mention these things out loud, but he didn't hesitate to answer:

"Got it back in Louisiana, when I joined the guild. 'Twas a while ago" he was drawing small circles close to her waist area.

"Guild? That sounds like from a pocket novel. Or vampires flick".

"Oh but it's very real, an' it's a big deal there. An' y're supposed to get this when y're old enough t' become a member. That is, at 17".

She considered this for few moments and was about to say something else, but then, she realized of something:

"What time is it?"

"Don't know, don't care" he replied, playing with her hair now.

She started to get up, to take a look at the digital clock on his side of the bed, but he was faster than that, by knocking the thing off from the night stand.

"Remy?! God…" she huffed and crawled over him to pick the clock up. Again, he didn't let her:

"Stay for breakfast" he said, holding her by the wrists: " _Allons_ , Remy cooks for y'. Wouldn't y' like that?"

She narrowed her eyes:

"Just let me see the time".

"If y' promise y'll stay" he kissed her left hand.

She studied his face for a while, raising her right brow a little, probably without realizing she was doing so. He had noticed she had that habit.

"Okay".

He released her wrists and picked up the clock from the floor, showing the green numbers to her:

"6:02. Y're welcome" he put it back on the nightstand.

"How do yah know Ah'll keep my promise?" she asked him, resting her elbow on the bed and her head on her hand.

"I don't" he recognized: "I can just wish".

She stared at him with an unreadable expression. Then, she gave him a sly smile:

"Ah'll stay, all right. Let's see if yah're good in the kitchen too".

(…)

When she first groggily opened her eyes, the sight of the unfamiliar surroundings made her sit up at once. But then, it wasn't so unfamiliar after all; she just had never seen it in day light, showered by the orangey glow than entered through the window.

Remy wasn't there.

She looked down at herself and then at the clock that had been placed back on the nightstand at some point: 10:42 am. Logan, Storm, Cyclops, the Professor, hell, even Kitty would all have her head, for not letting them know she would spend the night out (not that she had ever done that) mainly because the X-Men didn't have few enemies, and kidnapped team members was something that had happened before. They just cared for each other. Either way, she'd make something up, so she came out from under the sheets and bedcover and found her bag over there, on the floor.

Two texts from Kitty; all right, not so serious. So she just texted back, telling her she had spent the night at a friend's house (which friend? Well, whatever) and let the bag fall on the bed.

Then she took a look around again.

It was a little strange to wake up in a place that's not part of the regular course life. More like a detour or an intrusion in a parallel reality.

She picked up the shirt Remy had been wearing the night before, put it on, then her panties, and headed out the bedroom.

Her bare feet made this silent but still existent sound, as she sneaked down the hallway. A clatter of utensils and drawers being opened and closed and then the sharp ring of some electrical appliance, but mostly, a delicious smell, led her to the living room, which was also the kitchen area.

She stood by the doorway, leaning on a shoulder against the wall. He was in blue jeans and a black sleeveless shirt.

" _Bon jour, chere_ " he greeted with his back to her, as he turned something over in a pan: "Hope y' like pancakes an' omelets".

"Ah do. And that smells real good" she came closer: "Can Ah help?"

"Almost done, don't worry" he took two dishes from a shelf: "Well, would y' pour some juice?"

"Sure". There was a plastic bag on the counter, with a bottle of orange juice still in it; an empty bag was also there and a supermarket ticket. "Did yah just buy these things?" she asked, reaching for two glasses.

" _Oui_ , 'round the corner" he served the omelets in the dishes. "Don't usually keep breakfast supplies in here".

"So yah get rid of _them_ before breakfast time?"  
He turned the stove off: "In fact, _cherie_ , don't bring 'em here much".

"Why?" she put the bottle's lid back on.

"Wait: y' askin' me 'bout other women? Thought y' didn't care 'bout that".

"Ah don't" she said indifferently: "Was just makin' small talk".

"Right" he took some forks and knives from a drawer: "What about y'?"

"What about me what?"

"Y' seein' other guys?"

She propped herself up with both hands and went to sit on the counter, leaving her bare legs hanging there:

"And by _see_ , yah mean _fuck_?"

"Y' said it, I didn't."  
She smiled and looked down, then back at him: "What, Ah look like a man-eater or something?"

"That's the thing: y' really don't".

"Then what do Ah look like?"

Remy approached her, very close, staring into her eyes, measuring her expression and his next words:

"Y' look like beauty. Like perfection, with a lil' touch of wildness and a big one of cheekiness. An' y' sound, an' y' taste like that as well". She didn't blink. Then, he pulled a plastic bottle out of nowhere: "Y' like maple syrup?"

"Ah love it."

"Sorry only got one of those but we can eat in the couch" he said, gesturing towards a metal stool that was there in a corner.

"It's okay, Ah'm okay here".

" _D'accord_."

He leaned on the counter besides her, plates and glasses between the two of them. First, she took a mouthful of omelet which was like none other she had ever tasted, in spite of which, the combination of spices and condiments immediately gave her a little sensorial trip to the flavors of the South. Amazing, indeed.

"So, y' gonna tell me what your power is?" he asked, eating some omelet as well.

"Oh, yeah… that."

"'Twas only a matter of time before one of us asked, don't y' think?"

She finished chewing before replying:

"Ah guess". She stared at him with big eyes, while drinking some juice. Then, continued: "It might freak yah out a bit".

"Try me."

"Okay." From the start, she knew he was a mutant, because of his eyes. But she hadn't expected that he would find out she was one too. Anyway, it was too late to hide it: "When Ah touch someone, skin to skin, Ah can, if Ah want to, absorb their abilities, memories, mutant powers. For a little while. But that kind of… knocks them out". She was cutting a piece of pancake.

"Alright, that's somethin'."

"Ah can also… jump really high, run fast, that kinda stuff. Yah?"

He winked and then said "I make things go boom", like a magician that was about to deliver his act.

He took a tea spoon that had been lying on the counter. Rogue saw the piece of cutlery acquiring this ruby shade, then becoming shimmery and iridescent, as he tossed it away and it burst mid air, leaving smoke and ashes floating there.

"Wow, that's really great" she recognized. She was about to ask, or more, to state, that that was how he had created those explosions in the train station, but it was better not to go any deeper into that.

She couldn't go any deeper into any of this.

(…)

"So, now that y've tried Remy's majestic cookin', what y' think?"

It was almost noon, when they went down the stairs of the metro station. Maps on the walls, signs hanging here and there, this sort of echo and especially, people in a rush.

"It was better than Ah expected, really".

"Just that, _chere_? Come on, tell me truth."

She made him wait some seconds, just for suspense: "It was delicious, hun. Thanks for it."

" _Non_ , don't even mention it. Let's just repeat it sometime, _hein?_ "

She passed the card in the machine thing, so the turnstile let her pass, leaving Remy on the other side.

"Maybe." There she went again.

" _Allons, cherie_ : when will I see y' again? A hint, at least?"

Rogue put the card back inside her bag and took a look in the direction of the hallway she had to head now, to take the train. Then, she looked at Remy one more time:

"Well, yah know where Ah live, don't yah?"

And with one last smile, she turned around and got lost among the people and in the depths of the station.

 **Note: All right! Feels like it took me a while to write this down, but it's done. What do you guys think? Please don't leave without dropping me a review! Thanks so much for reading.**


	6. Chapter 6: Coffee

Diclaimer: I don't own the X-Men!

Chapter 6: Coffee.

It's nothingness up there in the high ceiling; just four big lamps, three of which were off. Nothingness inside her ears, as this sound of void wrapped everything, floating on her back, being swung just slightly by the water, which was neither cool not warm, but had this perfect in between temperature that embraced her.

Most people in the mansion came to the indoors pool during the day or the early evening, but Rogue loved it the most at night. The large windows and floors and walls covered in arabesque tiles, gave it this old school vibe; it reminded her of a black and white movie she had seen at some point.

She stopped floating and let her feet rest on the pool's bottom, with the water up to her chest. The tips of her fingers were starting to get all wrinkly.

Suddenly, she heard or saw something, she wasn't sure which one. There was only one door that led to the area, and it was closed. Maybe outside, some of the kids wandering around? Someone arriving late and trying to get off the curfew's hook? She waited, scrutinizing the shadows on the other side of the windows.

But nothing, so she took a little swim from one side to the other, and then back. She opened her eyes under the water, to that distorted and itchy world. And there was something that hadn't been up there before. A shadow, a presence, a…

She emerged from the water, gasping for air as her heart almost stopped:

"Well _cherie_ , this be one fancy hut, I gotta give y' that."

She gaped at Remy, who was removing his trench coat.

"Yah can't be here!" she exhaled.

"Y' broke into Remy's home, only fair he do the same".

"And what the heck are yah even doin'?"

He took his t-shirt off like it was no big deal:

"Gonna join y' for a night dip, of course".

"Like hell yah will!" she propped herself up the border of the pool, and crawled out of it: "Are yah out of your mind? Someone could see yah!"

"So what? Y' can say I'm your cousin Bernard from N'awlins".

She didn't cease to take alternate glimpses from the door to the windows and it was better not to even think about the security cameras:

"Put that back on" she urged him, crossing her arms around her stomach.

He didn't seem to have heard her. Instead, he slid his gaze all over her body and smirked:

"That a nice lil' swim suit, _chere_."

She huffed and reached for his t-shirt, which was crumpled on a beach chair, and tossed it at him:

"Put it on!"

"Aw, so no pool for Remy t'night?"

She glared at him, reached for her towel and wrapped herself in it.

"No dipping? No skinny dipping, no nothing?"

"NO!" she tried to say this seriously but after the word escaped her lips, she had to chuckle. "Logan could smell yah and then we're dead, well, Ah'm dead."

"He ain't home, _cherie_ " he informed her, finally doing as she asked and putting his t-shirt back on. "Saw him heading out."

"Really? How…?" she jumped into her flip flops. "Yah can't just show up here, yah know?"

"Uh, y' told me to, remember?"

"Yeah but Ah didn't mean like this!"

"Then how?!"

She didn't have the answer for this either. And there seemed to be no one outside the windows, but then, this house was always a mess of people showing up from every direction. So she grabbed him by an arm and headed towards the door.

He picked up his trench coat before following her.

"So, what y' say we go somewhere?"

"Where?" they came out the door. Right besides it, there was another door that led to the girls' lockers room. She pushed it open.

"Your call, we can go to the movies, a play, if y' like that, or just go grab something to eat. Anything y' want."

Once they were inside, Rogue locked the door and heard through it for some seconds. No, not a sound from the other side, thank God.

"Like a date?" she finally said, facing him again.

"We can call it anything y' want, I leave that to y'. In fact, let's not give it a name, let it be just y' and me, out there and maybe afterwards, going to my place."

She frowned slightly:

"Ah don't think that's a good idea."

He took a step closer to her:

" _Chere_ , we don't have to have sex if y' don't want to, of course. We can just do other stuff."

She studied his face for some moments, not sure herself of how things reached this point:

"Why?"

"Why? 'Cause I really enjoy being around y', don't it show? And I'd like to do that more often, not just every once in a blue moon."

He saw her hesitate, like her mind was debating between two or who knows how many choices.

Then, she walked past him and towards a desk that was there on a corner. When she turned to him again, he saw she was holding a pen. Next, she grabbed his arm and started writing something on his forearm.

A digit, then another one… and his eyes started wandering and went to lie on her face, her long eye lashes and the way she looked up at him, smiled and then looked back down, to finish writing the twelve digits.

"In all honesty, _chere_ , this more than I expected when I came here" he said, taking a look at the phone number.

"Call me during the weekend, 'kay?"

"But it's only Sunday t'day!" he complained.

"Yah have to go now."

"Y' keep torturing me, Rogue."

"Go away!"

Why was she such a mixture of so many things? This girl, who was standing there in front of him, wrapped in a green towel, dripping water and make-up free, which made her look with a sort of innocence he had only briefly glimpsed before. She was taking him down some paths he hadn't walked through, him, Remy LeBeau, who thought he knew everything there was to know, plus a little more. He had known many girls and _dated_ many more, and he thought he was quite versed in figuring out the female mind, but somehow, Rogue had sent all of that so called knowledge tumbling down.

"Alright! Alright" he put his trench coat on: "But, there one thing I gotta do first."

"What?"

He cupped her face between his hands and before she could do anything about it, he kissed her.

And at first she didn't move, but then she kissed him back, feeling unexpectedly vulnerable there, barely covered, in a place where anyone could catch them at any moment and find her with this man, a stranger, or not; someone she knew, but didn't. It was ambivalence, at its best.

"Now get out" she said looking down, trying to breathe calmly.

"This so unfair, y' know?"

"BYE!"

He winked at her after opening the door:

"See y' on weekend."

And then he was gone.

(…)

When Rogue sneaked into her bedroom, Kitty was all curled up in her bed, snoring, oblivious to her roommate wandering around the house and making out with intruders.

She took a shower and put on some pants and a t-shirt, then crawled into her bed. It was almost entirely dark, which made it look like everything around was tinted with a blue grey color. Even her cell phone, which lied on her nightstand and underneath her stare.

This wasn't a part of then plan. Everything was supposed to be only physical and then goodbye; he was the exact type of guy who would be cool with that, who was used to that. When was it? When did things start to take a different shade? When he started stalking her in the park, maybe? _Stalking her_ … she shut her eyes tight and smiled, at the thought of the word itself and at the memory of him, obstinately waiting for her behind a bunch of trees and bushes. Was it then? Or when they met in the train station? He had asked for her number several times before all of that, sure. So maybe it was a progressive thing. Or maybe he wasn't used to a girl giving him this treatment, and the novelty of it was appealing to him. What did he see in her? What did he want? _Going to the movies_ , was he serious?

And what did she want?

It took her at least a couple hours to get to sleep, her limbs a little tense from the pool, and the taste of him still in her lips.

 **Note: If you're wondering why this chap is called "Coffee" and there's no actual coffee in it, it's because the chapter happens at night, and Rogue couldn't sleep much at the end, so the whole thing keeps her awake, you know, like coffee does? Yeah, that's what I tried to do there. So thanks for reading and reviewing! (*wink wink*)**


	7. Chapter 7: Dessert

Disclaimer: Don't own the X-Men!

Chapter 7: Dessert.

"Hello?"

" _Bon soir chere,_ hope y' weren't sleepin'."

"…Remy? God, do yah…? It's about three am, what is it?"

"Y've got that wrong, it's 12:01 am on Saturday, so it's the weekend already, and _je suis tres désolé_ if I woke y' up but this couldn't wait any longer."

"...What couldn't wait any longer?"

"Asking if y're busy tonight, of course."

"Yah mean tonight tonight, or Saturday night?"

"Either one."

"Well, right now Ah was actually busy, yah know, sleeping…"

"Sleeping can wait, _chere_."

"…but… tomorrow night, Ah mean, Saturday night, yeah, Ah'm free."

"Great, so I pick y' up at 7, 8, 9? 10?"

"Umm… why don't we meet somewhere instead?"

"Come on, lemme pick y' up, _hein_? We take a lil' ride on my bike, I know y'll like it."

"…"

"So?"

"What if we meet in Central Park at 5 pm? Or is it too early?"

" _Chere_ , if y' told me to meet y' in the Liberty Statue in ten minutes, I'd be there in five."

"Okay. In that case… yah know the Alice in Wonderland statue there in Central Park?"

" _Non_ , but I'll find it."

"Alright. See yah then."

" _Au revoir cherie_ , and sweet dreams."

(…)

It was 4:50 pm when Remy got to have the statue on sight. He didn't know that thing existed before, but he liked the fact that she had chosen it for their rendezvous point. She obviously liked the park and she must have liked the statue too; did it have some special meaning to her? Did she like that book? She was finally allowing him to take some glimpses into her life, her actual life, which is what he wanted the most.

Even though spring had arrived, the trees were still mostly naked, so everything around looked brown, grey or ochre… kind of like the statue itself.

5:05 and she entered his field of vision, coming from the left, hands in the pockets of her black jacket and hair all loose. She got to the statue and took a look around, then at the immobile characters there, observing them like it was the first time; like a kid would.

As he approached stealthily, he got it confirmed: the more he saw her, the more he wanted her, in every way possible.

When he was only two or three steps away, she turned around to face him:

"Hi" she smiled.

" _Bon jour cherie_ , how are y'?" There was somewhat of an awkward cheek kiss there, but he picked the situation up: "Beautiful as always, Remy can see."

"Ah'm fine, yah?"

" _Tres bien._ So, Central Park. As far away from Bayville as possible, _non_?"

"Well, yah can't just break into the mansion like that, yah know? Ah can't believe they didn't catch yah."

They started walking. The air was mostly cool, but not freezing. It made it feel nice to be wrapped in a coat.

" _Chere_ , those people of yours wouldn't catch me if I was under their nose. They seem very stuck up too. What y' people even do there?"

"Stuff" she shrugged, but then, continued: "Yah could say we're in the superhero business, as ridiculous as that sounds. Trying to save the world from the bad guys such as, yah know, those who steal microchips that could potentially endanger mutants everywhere…"

"Ah _oui_?"

"Yeah, that kinda stuff."

"So I'm a bad guy?"

"By X-Men standards, most likely."

"And by your standars?"

She looked at him and then back to the front, as they went around a bunch of children playing:

"If Ah thought yah were a bad guy, Ah wouldn't be here with yah, would Ah?" There was that very precise dose of sarcasm in her voice: "Ah'm an X-Man, after all."

"Or maybe y' like bad guys" he gave her a smug smirk.

"Are yah implying that Ah like yah?"

"Y' don't?"

She vacillated for a second:

"Ah don't think Ah have to answer to that, especially to a thief."

"If y' think y' wound me with that _chere_ , lemme tell y': _au contraire_. See, y' do what y' gotta do to survive, and if it be something y' enjoy and y're good at, amen to it." She didn't say anything for some moments, so he spoke again: "What 'bout y'? Do y' like what y' do?"

"Yeah" she said right away, but then, seemed to think of it better: "No. Kind of. Ah mean, it's not bad, it's just that sometimes it feels like Ah've never had another choice but doing these things."

" _Chere_ , every step we take's a choice. They're everywhere, choices."

"Yeah, Ah know, but most guys there believe they… we can actually save the world and be a part of something big, like that. Me? Not much."

Clearly, what she was saying made much more sense than what those prude heads were about: "Then what would y' like to do? What do y' really want?"

There was a patch of snow in the middle of the paved road they were walking down. Some people there were snapping pictures or just walking on it.

"Maybe just having a normal life. Traveling. But that'd be selfish, right? Not using my powers for the benefit of others."

"Not selfish, _non_. Only human, and true. Can't deny what's true."

"Yeah, maybe it's better to honestly being an asshole than to pretend caring about others."

"Y' implying I'm an asshole?"

"Maybe" she chuckled: "But, besides that… what do _yah_ really want?"

"Always been more 'bout living the moment, _chere_. But…" he looked at her: "What do I want? That easy: I want y'."

She looked back at him, at his red on black eyes, trying to read his face and in between his words:

"What do yah exactly mean by that?"

"I mean exactly this" he gestured towards her and around: "I call y' or y' call me, we meet, we have a nice time, no one keep anyone guessing when the other'll show up and I know, maybe all this ain't what we first expected from this, but I couldn't care less, we talked 'bout being honest, right?" They kept walking for some moments: "Would y' like that?"

"Why me? Or do y' act like this with all of the girls yah… see?"

" _Non_ , y're the first one that do this to me, some women I've liked more than others, but not as much as to spend weeks with mud up to my ears, waiting for 'em to pass by to just say _hi_."

"That was your call. But… people usually like what's hard to get. And Ah was pretty easy. To get, Ah mean. That's a contradiction, in a way, don't yah think?"

"Not important. In fact, I'm glad, 'cause that what brought us here."

Suddenly, she stopped walking:

"Don't yah love that view? The trees and the branches, and back there the buildings? Isn't it amazing?"

" _Oui_ " he looked in the same direction as her, though with the corner of his eye, he kept track of the expression in her eyes, her skin, her collarbones barely visible, right there where her green top began. "I'd only come here once or twice."

"Really?" she kept walking and he followed her: "Yah live in New York and yah don't come here?"

"Well I could start if y' come with me."

"And yah have to take everything down that road, don't yah?"

"Can't help it. It's your fault, tough".

"My fault?"

"Yeah, y' make me like y'. Y' make me like being with y'. Don't y' feel that too? Didn't y' enjoy breakfast time the other day?"

"Sort of."

"Ah _oui_? Aren't y' enjoying now?"

She looked up in sort of a candid way, that he knew was everything but:

"Nah" she said, smiling at him.

"Alright" he nodded: "Then I guess we'll have to go home and fuck, got no problem with that."

He didn't know what he liked the most: the sound of her laughter or the perfect vision of her face when she did. Probably both.

"Look" she said.

The saxophone melody that had been growing louder in the past minute or so, originated from an old man with a cap and a white beard. He was playing the instrument, following the rhythm with his body. Someone approached him and let some coins fall in the case that rested by his side. Besides that, people were just passing by, not paying much attention to him.

"They say this kind of stuff is for tourists" she said, searching inside her bag: "But Ah'm not from here, so guess Ah'll always be one."

The man nodded when she placed a bill in the case, and kept on with his music.

"Aren't we all?" Remy said.

She held on to his arm.

(….)

"Can Ah try yours? What's its name again?"

She didn't wait for him to answer, reaching for a piece of his food, cutting it with her spoon.

" _Bien sur,_ they call it limoncello dessert and though I'm more into the spicy stuff, gotta say this really good".

"Told yah."

On the other side of the glass, there was the street and the night had fallen already. Inside this little desserts' bar, as it was called, it felt warm and cozy. Rogue was taking a bite of her massive cake, when he spoke:

"An' what do y' do when y're not savin' the world or giving Remy limited visits?"

"Hm" she finished chewing: "Yah stalked me for quite a while, yah should know by now. That was crazy, by the way, no, Ah don't know, Ah don't do the big stuff… Ah like to come here, to the city and just walk around. Find this sort of little places and try something different." She looked out the window for a moment, then back at her plate: "Ah don't miss the South. Ah like it here."

There was more behind her not missing her homeland, but he decided it would be better to go into that later.

"Got no complaints 'bout New York, sure, but if we talk 'bout missin', I do miss N'awlins."

"Really? Ah guess there's more to it than what people usually know, Mardi Gras and all of that."

"That true. It's the streets, the people, the lights there, just the air and French in your ears, that the best part, imagine, if it's good to hear Remy talkin' the way he do, imagine hearing it 24/7, it's perfection."

"Yeah, Ah _can't_ imagine that, really."

"Y're gonna love it, y'll see."

She straitened up in her seat:

"Ah'm gonna love it?"

"Uhum" he nodded, while taking a sip from his glass: "When we go there."

"Oh yeah? And when will that be?"

"Anytime y' want. We could go now."

"Now?"

" _Mais oui_ , we take a plane, a bus, we could go in my bike too, would take some time but it wouldn't be the first time I ride my way there. Also, it'd be fun, don't y' think?"

He said this all nonchalantly, as if he was talking about going across the street.

"Well thanks but Ah'm gonna pass on that, for now."

"Y' just let me know when."

He was staring at her with those damn eyes, as he really meant everything he had said, and she had to look away, because all of this time, she had felt she was in control of this. Of their relationship, if it's necessary to give a name to what they had been doing all these months. But now, living this moment that was so real, she knew she couldn't step back.

He was right. Of course she liked him too. Everything about him and it scared her to realize she, too, wanted more.

(…)

And several hook ups, furtive encounters and a little chasing around later, this was the first time she got on his bike. It reminded her of a class they had in the institute long time ago, about the brain and how it makes us who we are. They talked about chemicals in there, oxytocine and dopamine, or something, that make us feel good, like the mind just exploded into one big flying thing that rises up and sooths and excites everything inside at the same time. Was it that what she was feeling, chemicals in her brain? Whatever it may be, it was great and she was swimming in it when going down the streets holding on to him, with her arms around him and seeing everything with wide eyes, because it felt like the first time she ever did. And, again, it was scary because… should she tell him?

She tried to put that thought away, push it to the back of her mind and just be present in the moment.

They were getting close to his building when it started drizzling.

(…)

"Ah know what yah're thinking."

Remy brushed away some strands of her white bangs, then kissed her forehead.

"Did y' pull out your absorption thing on me? Hm?"

"No, yah wouldn't like that."

"Why?"

"It kind of… knocks people out. It's not very pretty."

"Well y' knocked me out from the start anyway. Y' cold?"

"A bit."

He reached over to a side of the bed and took a thick blanket, then covered the both of them with it and lied by her side again, face to face. It was raining really hard, the sound of dripping water pulsing around.

"So what Remy thinkin', _hein_? What's on my mind?"

She ran her fingers over jaw for some moments, then stopped and looked into his eyes again:

"Yah're thinking Ah was… maybe a little different this time. Wasn't Ah?"

There it was again, the indecipherable look he had seen before.

"What y' mean?"

"Yah know what Ah mean."

He tried to read on her face, to get some sort of clue about where she was going with this. But none.

"'Kay, maybe" he ventured.

"How?"

"Maybe y' were a little less…"

"Aggressive?"

"Was going to say _wild_ , but, okay, if y' say so."

She chuckled and looked elsewhere for few moments, pursing her lips:

"What else?"

"Just that. Also y're usually in a hurry, but y're still here and I'm sure glad."

She smiled, then bit her lower lip before continuing:

"It's… if yah really mean all of that crap yah've told me, Ah should tell yah something too. But… Ah think yah'll think Ah'm a complete freak because of it, though… Ah already started so there's no turning back, really."

At this point, the thought of just getting up, put her clothes on and leave, like she had done other times, almost every time, crossed her mind. But she stayed right where she was.

"Alright" he got even closer to her, if it was possible: "What is it?"

She was trying to find the words.

"Ah've never said this to anyone. No one knows, not even the guys at the institute, the Professor, no one. He does know about the context of it, but not about the exact thing Ah'm trying to tell yah".

"O…kay."

"Yah scared?" she laughed nervously.

" _Non_! No, I'm just wondering what it could be, my mind is going a million miles an hour but… I don't know what y're telling me."

"Okay, eh… Ah'll just spit it out as blatantly straight forward as Ah can." Her hands felt weak, but she had to continue. She opened her mouth for few seconds, then just started speaking: "Ah'm not a… normal mutant, if that makes sense. In the early 90's there was this project to create more skilled mutants? Have yah heard of that?"

"In Alaska, I think?"

"Yeah, exactly. It was a secret thing. Not many of us made it through, only 'bout a dozen. Well… they fooled around with our DNA's before we were born, gave us extra abilities, that's why my power as such is absorbing other people's skills and memories, but the extra stuff Ah'm telling yah it's, Ah can jump 'bout five stories high, and Ah'm really fast, that's not mutant, they gave that to me, see?" Now that she had started, she just kept going without thinking: "Ah have night vision and can see things from a large distance. All of that, and well, to achieve that, they changed our DNA's and mixed them with… other… things, Ah have, eh, part of… animal DNA in me, specifically a… feline thing. And… like the happy meal, it comes with an extra toy, too, 'cause it also gives me this… thing, every… four months."

She paused, hoping that he had got it. But anyway, she knew she had to say it.

"What gives y'?" he asked, knowing all of this time of sneaking around and wondering and guessing, reduced to this.

She sighed deeply, and said it:

"It... does something to me, something Ah can't control. It… ohmyGod, well: every four months… Ah'm kind of… in heat".

 **Note: Alright, this chapter has me a little scared, because even though I built the fic around this and intended for it to be this way, I wonder if you guys will think I have finally lost it. First off, I gotta say I took this idea from the TV series Dark Angel; did anyone watch it? I haven't seen it in a long time but somehow a lot of it stayed in my mind enough so I think this is the third fic that I write, with something I took from that series. So, this thing Rogue says in the end, happens in that TV series; I watched the episode before starting the fic, so if you want to, you can check it out in Youtube, just look for "Dark Angel, Meow" which is the name of the episode. Secondly, I don't mean to say that in order for a woman to do the things Rogue has done in this fic, something as bananas as this DNA thing has to happen to her. To each their own, it's a free world, and this is just a specific case, a specific fic I wanted to build around this idea, so please don't take it as if I'm trying to be moralist, or the opposite, I don't know. Don't take it weirdly, please. Aaaaaand next chap, comes the long awaited flashback time! Let's see how all of this madness began. Thanks so much for reading and I hope this is not too crazy. Kudos!**

 **Note 2: I just realized they took down the Dark Angel episodes from Youtube, so now I can't find it. Anyway, just in case, that's the name of the episode (Meow), season 1.**

 **Note 3: These are a lot of notes. But anyway, I had to mention that since this is an interactive fanfiction world we live in, TazzieLuv13 dropped me the most random review ever (thanks for it, it kept me giggling for several minutes): "Can fillet mignon be one of the cravings?" I said I didn't have that planned, then she/he suggested limoncello. So that's where the limoncello dessert came from. Also, on chap 5, stixnstones suggested to make Gambit say that he likes to make things go boom, when he explains his power to Rogue. So I just changed it and put it that way. Thanks for your feedback, guys. And this is the final note, I promise.**


	8. Chapter 8: Hunger

Disclaimer: Don't own them!

Chapter 8: Hunger.

It all started when she was 16.

She opened her eyes one morning and even though there was a nice temperature, more on the cool side, she was sweating like a chicken in the oven. Or so she told herself. She sat up in her bed and placed a hand over her chest: her heart was pounding fast. Maybe she'd had a bad dream? Whatever the reason, a shower should make her feel better.

But she wasn't herself, not during breakfast and not during the training session, later on in the morning. Mystique was barking orders from a sort of podium they had in this metallic room, which they pet named "the Box". Rogue was waiting for her turn to jump to the ground and start dodging obstacles, handling the other guys' powers and climbing up exercise walls, but as Toad hopped from here to there and Quicksilver rushed around doing what he usually does, all she could focus was on Lance's biceps, who was there by her side, waiting too. He was chewing on something (gum, a piece of paper) completely ignoring the well known rule about not using cell phones in there. A smile crept on her face, without her even realizing. She had never noticed he was this fit, and they had been living under the same roof for almost a year. Her lips felt dry and her stomach was doing a happy little dance she hadn't known before. How odd, he was kind of handsome in his own way, with that longish hair and strong jaw…

"…and don't make me say it twice!" Mystique's yell broke her contemplation.

"Coming! Damn…" Lance sighed, giving an eye roll to Rogue before heading to the arena.

 _What's wrong with yah? This is Avalanche, he's a total brick head. Put yourself together._

She ran her hands over her face, trying to get rid of these nonsense thoughts, but there was still something in her. It was a turbulence, something that made her feel at the edge of herself, more and more every second.

Some minutes later, she was also running and hopping in the Box, and it made her feel somewhat better, releasing a bit of the tension that was choking her insides. Then, something came from a side and tackled her, sending her straight to the ground.

"Got you!" he said, sitting on top of her. "So what's the Rogue gonna do now, eh?"

It was Pyro and his queasy smile.

He had nice teeth though, and that hair color sure suited him.

She couldn't help to smile; he seemed so strong up there, and he had always had a thing for her. Well, all guys in the house did and it made sense, considering she was the only girl. She had done a good job so far at keeping them at bay, but now, John… that was a nice name, why did everyone called him Pyro? _John_ sounded better, he was quite the freak but that made him very original and interesting and…

"Rope climbing time, let's go!" Mystique let them know.

Pyro got off of her, not without giving her an uncertain look, most likely because this was the first time Rogue ever smiled at him.

She took another shower before lunch, this time, with the water almost at freezing temperature. She didn't recognize herself in that person from the morning, who had been drooling over two of the most idiotic guys on Earth.

They all sat around the table during lunch, Rogue's stare hardly leaving the confines of her plate, only to pick up some more beans and…

There was Lance's big arm again, as he poured himself some juice.

She had to make an effort to hide her quick breathe, which was this close to giving her away.

The afternoon was their time off, so Rogue locked herself in her bedroom and spent the next few hours either walking back and forth a distance of fifteen feet, rolling around in her bed, zapping nonstop, scrolling down out of control in her computer or fanning herself with a magazine. This had never happened to her and she got to think it was a weird type of the flu she had caught. It should be gone soon, it had to.

It was during the twilight that someone knocked on her door.

After wiping her sweaty hands on her jeans, she opened up.

"Hey Rogue, I was wondering if you have a USB cable I can borrow?"

He was just standing there, staring at her uninterestedly, but it'd be accurate to say something similar to a torrent of fire traversed her like a knife. She vaporized from her solid, human state, to become something hot and liquid, and something that definitely did not reason at all.

Lance seemed to notice something was off:

"Eh, you okay?" he said all weirded out.

But before he could do anything else, she pulled him inside the bedroom and pushed him against the wall, kissing him and wrapping legs and arms around him.

"Rogue, what the…?" his puzzlement was quickly replaced by an I-can't-believe-my-luck grin: "All right!"

(...)

It was dark outside, when they were putting their clothes back on in a hurry.

"I… I'll get you one of those pills. Just in case, okay?"

All the heat had disappeared and had been replaced by some kind of coldness. Yes, it was exactly that: she was frozen.

"Okay" she uttered, not even beginning to grasp what had just happened.

"I'll go buy it. I'll be right back."

When he was gone, she sat at the border of her disordered bed, eyes stuck on the floor.

It still hurt.

What had she just done?

It didn't feel real, like she was somehow coming back from a drunken state. It couldn't be real. Had she just… had her first time with… Lance, with no protection and for no reason? She didn't love him or like him, she didn't even think he was remotely cute, they weren't friends either, it had always just been a distant relationship and now, what was this?

Besides frozen, she was also horrified, revolted of herself. In an impulse, she ran to the bathroom and tried to puke, but couldn't. Then, shuddering all over, went back to the bed and lied there, not even being able to cry.

(…)

Lance had come back about an hour later. She opened up, took the thing and closed the door in his face. The next day had passed by like the aftermath of a hangover or a fever. She had done everything she usually did (breakfast, training, lunch, washing the dishes) but in a robotic state, unable to match the facts of the previous day with the person that inhabited her body.

She had also avoided Lance at all costs, whenever he was near and tried to say something to her or establish eye contact.

It was mid afternoon when there was, once again, a knock on her door.

"Rogue? It's me."

 _Goddamn._

She opened up to face a smirking Lance.

"What's up?" he tried to kiss her but she quickly moved away. He didn't seem too affected by this. "Hey, I bought some condoms" he tapped his hand on his pocket, then tried to leap on her again.

"NO!" she pushed him away and headed to a side of the room.

"Why not?"

"Listen, I don't think yesterday was… right. I mean, we gotta forget it even happened, okay? Please."

"What do you mean? We had a good time, right?" He came closer to her: "I know it was your first time and all, so now it'll be better, you'll see."

"No, no, Lance, sorry, this will never happen again, you have to leave now."

She witnessed the gradual shift in his expression, from content, to eagerness and then upset.

And a moment later, he shoved her against the bed, with him on top.

"Come on Rogue, I know you liked it" he hissed, close to her ear: "You were begging for it."

"If yah don't get the hell off me in the next two seconds, Ah'll absorb your shitty brains out."

He fixated his eyes on hers and knew that, as usual, she wasn't kidding.

"What's wrong?" he asked again, gatting on his feet.

"What's wrong's that no means no, asshole" she said, getting up: "Now get out and forget 'bout all of this, and Ah'll forget to tell Mystique yah tried to drug rape me."

"But… but… I didn't…" he stuttered.

"GET OUT!"

When he left, she took another shower and crawled into her bed, even though it wasn't even 6 pm.

She cried herself to sleep.

(…)

The third time it happened she was 17 already, and she had started noticing a pattern and, of course, recognizing the… _symptoms_ : every (almost exactly) four months, it started when she woke up in the morning and lasted about 24 hours. So, if she managed to make it through the day, it would be gone by the next morning.

But she couldn't just settle for that.

Luckily, Mystique wasn't in the house that afternoon, so she headed to her private offices. A previous research had let her know the access codes and all of the stuff she needed to get into the main computer, only accessible to Raven.

She pressed the _Enter_ key with a shaky hand, taking a large sip of freezing cold lemonade with the other.

This was her personal file. She had never seen it before. It contained data about her powers and physical characteristics, and also about Alaska. She knew she hadn't been born in a normal way, like the other guys. She knew she was conceived as a part of an experiment, like a lab rat, making her a freak even among freaks. But she had never known so many details of the whole thing.

It gave her a pang in the stomach to see that the _Progenitors_ line read _Unknown._

But she had other goals that day, so she continued.

She opened up another tab. Genetic manipulation. DNA alterations. She read the entire thing with wide eyes, not even caring anymore if Mystique appeared all of a sudden. Her extra powers: stealth and agility, not invincible, but certainly above average. Another gulp of lemonade, until the glass was empty, and she found it.

The main words stayed stuck in her head: _feline DNA. Tri-annual. Heat. Mating. Procreating._

She was, indeed, just what they made her: an animal.

(…)

What was left of those hellish 24 hours she spent them in her room, desperately praying to achieve what she had done the previous time, four months ago: she had managed to keep herself under control, not without taking 4 sleeping pills that nearly knocked her out for good. She didn't want to do that again. She had to prove herself that she wasn't some piece of an experiment, an expendable ingredient of a messed up attempt at playing God. She was a person, with a freaking brain inside her skull, so it was necessary to act according to that.

She drank about a gallon of water, then alternated cold showers with push ups and chocolate bars.

It was consuming. She tried to read Alice in Wonderland and to watch a cartoon movie, but she just felt possessed by this hunger, this urge to forget about herself and the world, and simply find a man to…

 _…Mating. Procreating…_

NO!

She had been lucky enough the first time (the only time so far, really) with Lance. Maybe it was the pill he got her, who knew. But she would never risk that way again. It was just… pathetic. She felt pathetic.

Finally, the clock had a little mercy on her. Birds started chirping, it got a bit orangey clear out there. And it simply faded away. She realized it started to diminish, like a headache does and suddenly your forehead feels a bit fresh. Then, about fifteen minutes later, it was entirely gone, leaving her exhausted, sleepless and with a mess of a bedroom.

But she had made it. She'd have four months of peace, and would have to deal with it again later on. It felt like this was some sort of monster that shadowed her and was ready to jump at her and make her betray herself... animal, monster… she was both.

 **Note: Well guys, this was very intense to write. Messed up and heavy stuff too, I know, but it felt right to write it. I got kind of engrossed by it, and ended up writing detailed things I hadn't even really planned. Next chapter, we'll continue with the flashbacks. Thanks for reading and pleaaaaaase don't leave without telling me what you think of this.  
**


	9. Chapter 9: Ice cream

Disclaimer: Don't own the X-Men!

Chapter 9: Ice cream.

Rogue was an X-Men by 18, away from Mississippi and Mystique, but not from the load that loomed over her as months became weeks and weeks became days.

That's when cold showers and obsessively cleaning up her bedroom failed her.

And so did ice cream, though this three flavors one (chocolate, strawberry and vanilla) was pretty great. She had gone to the kitchen for some, for the third time that night. Everyone else was out in a mission and she had straight on lie to them, something about a stomach bug, so she could stay home, locked in her room, away from any penis in a two mile ratio.

She was about to reach her bedroom, a bowl in one hand and a spoon in the other, when a shudder broke her in countless pieces.

"Hey Rogue, I thought everyone was out."

She almost choked with the ice cream that was in her mouth and had to cough and clear her throat several times.

"Me too, Ah thought everyone was… in that mission, yeah."

"No, I had to stay" Bobby explained: "Remember I strained my ankle last week? Well, it's better but it's not completely okay." Rogue nodded and nodded, and nodded again, trying not to look anywhere down his neck, because blasted be her luck, he had to be wearing nothing but shorts. "I mean, I can walk and all but not run or anything like that, you know doctor Hank told me to do these exercises in the pool to help it get better? Well, I was doing that. It does feel better but I think…"

"Bobby."

"…the tendons might be… yeah?"

"Kiss me."

He had to literally shake his head, like he had just been hearing things that weren't there.

"Ha?"

"Kiss. Me. Agh, never mind, Ah'll kiss yah."

His icy breath in her mouth gave her a chill that crept to the back of her neck, like a blend of hot and cold.

(…)

Breakfast was beyond awkward the next day, with Bobby hovering over Rogue like a bee, bringing her all sorts of butters and jellies, and offering her his last waffle, while she just sat there in front of her dish, the "thanks" she obliged herself to pronounce barely audible.

They did receive a few odd gazes, but she hoped to God no one would match this weird behavior to the two of them being home alone the previous night.

Later on that day, they had a special class with the Professor and, of course, Bobby had to come scampering and take the seat by her side.

"Hi Rogue!" he chanted.

"Hi." It's indeed possible to force a smile and frown at the same time.

"Hey, I was thinking…" Professor Xavier entered the room, so conversations died right on and everyone stayed quiet: "Oh, I'll tell you later."

The class began, about fifteen people in there, paying attention to Xavier's dissertation about the future of human and mutant kinds. Then, when Kurt was asking a question and the Professor was paying attention to him, Bobby laid his hand on Rogue's desk and few seconds later, a rose made of ice materialized right there, transparent and shiny.

Rogue slowly looked to the side, getting a glimpse of a smiling and expectant Iceman.

(…)

She avoided him like the plague for what was left of the day, but she knew that, eventually, it would come to this:

"Hey Rogue!" he caught up with her, as she headed to her bedroom that night: "Hey, listen, would you like to go mini golfing tomorrow? Or to the arcade? We could go ice skating too, if you want, well that's a little biased I know, hahaha, but really, what would you like to do?"

She had to snap him back to reality, the sooner the better:

"Bobby…" It was hard to find the right words; at least, she didn't want to sound mean: "Ah'm sorry but, yesterday was a mistake…" His face fell right then: "Ah… Ah was a little drunk, yeah, that evening and Ah wasn't myself. We're friends and Ah wouldn't like to go beyond that, okay? Really, we should just forget about it."

"Oh… oh, okay… sorry… I just thought…"

"It was a huge mistake, okay? And we shouldn't tell anyone about it, please."

"No! No, of course, I won't tell anyone."

"Thanks."

They stayed standing there, wrapped in the superb awkwardness of this moment. Finally, he spoke again:

"It's, eh… actually I should thank you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm not the 21 year old virgin anymore, so, thanks for that.

"Oh… okay, you're welcome, Ah guess?"

"Yeah… it was awesome!, and I just thought that we could… maybe date and…"

"No."

"Okay, I… it's fine…"

"Sorry…"

"No, it's okay…" he started walking backwards: "Have a… good night, I'll… okay."

She saw him walk away and disappear down one of the hallways.

(…)

At night, when things seem the furthest away but also the most real, staring at the ceiling and overthinking was all she seemed to be able to do. Bobby was a nice guy; didn't he deserve to have his first time with a girl that, at least, liked him and was into him? A girl that loved him and who he loved back, someone he could take to the stupid mini golf. Maybe, yes, maybe a part of him was just happy that he'd had sex, isn't that what all guys want? But still… it didn't feel right.

And it didn't feel right, either, not to know what it's like to do it out of free will, because she wanted to, because she decided to, because she cared about the other person, not like this… She was just adding more and more links to this growing chain of using people. Of regret.

Also, Bobby, a team mate, God… if anyone found out… five years from now, would she end up having fucked the majority of the mansion's male population?

These plus other insane thoughts crowded her mind. She wanted to fall asleep and forget about everything, at least for few hours. Because in reality, she could never get rid of this. She'd just have to learn to deal with it because obviously, she hadn't yet.

(…)

And at 19, when she thought she was starting to get a grip on it, she was proven wrong.

Sitting besides Piotr as the Black Bird made its way through the sky and towards the installation they would break into, she kept her teeth clenched and didn't even dare to look in his direction, because he was damn good looking, big and tall…

 _But you don't like him, he's your friend, he's just another guy, you don't like him, Kitty does, she has the biggest crush on him, not you, Rogue, you don't like him, please, he's not cute and gentle and strong… he's not…_

They had chosen the worst day possible for this very important mission she couldn't dodge. But she trusted that getting into action would help her drain her… energy out.

Once inside the perimeter of the building, they all split up, looking for a mutant kid they were supposed to rescue. Rogue made her way down an empty hallway and stopped by to hide in the shadows and listen. Nothing. No one. So she continued, relieved that focusing in this task made her push behind the other thing she didn't want to put into words in her mind.

Closed doors at both sides of the hallway and then she heard faint noises. They were steps, so she hurried to the corner and waited. Whoever was coming, was getting closer. It was only one person. She could handle him.

Right when he was about to turn around in the corner, she hit him and made him drop his weapon, which she immediately took hold off. Then she pointed it at him and took a better look.

 _Curse me._

This guy was in his sort of security uniform and he looked damn good on it. Hands up in surrender, maybe out of instinct he made a gesture towards the smaller gun at the side of his belt.

"Nah ah" she said softly, and reached for the pistol. It gave her an electric shock to get near him, and with this, what was left of her senses went tumbling down to a pit. "Move" she commanded him, still pointing at him with the big weapon.

He did as she asked, entering a supplies room she had spotted in the hallway. She locked the door behind her back.

"Take your clothes off."

This probably wasn't in the book of his training:

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Take your clothes off" she repeated, gesturing with the gun: "NOW."

He did, revealing a torso that made her smile. Then, she tossed both weapons out the window.

"Whatever you people want, you won't get away with it" he said.

"Shut up."

With this, she grabbed him by the shoulders and started kissing him, as he kept his hands up in the air, eyes open and confused as hell.

"What are you doing?" he babbled.

She looked at him in the eye:

"Ah'm starting foreplay, in case yah didn't notice".

He looked down at her as she kissed his chest:

"Are you for real?"

"Yah're damn right, soldier."

(…)

Cyclops was the one to find the child, so the mission was a success, not thanks to her, that's for sure. When they were done, she gave the guy a little absorption induced nap and got out of there, meeting the others at the pre established point. So it all came out nicely, like nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Except a team member had been having sex with a total stranger, who also happened to be a foe of their mission, while the others risked their lives to save a kid.

Back in the Black Bird, it felt strange to carry this little secret around, like anyone could guess it just by looking at her face. But it hadn't been her, back there with that guy. It had been someone else, right? Someone different or at least, someone she didn't choose to be.

Maybe the best thing to do was get it away from her mind and going back to normal. She dozed off on the way home.

 **Note: I was tempted to write one or two lines about safe sex in this (how did I even get to write these words?) but, after that time with Lance, in chapter 8, she said she wouldn't risk that way again, so I hope it's implied that she just doesn't risk that way anymore. Ok? Are we clear? Thanks for not making me explain it more. Also, the scene with the guy I took it directly from Dark Angel, and the ice rose scene, I think we all know where I took it from, right? ;-) The very first X-Men movie. Also, I gotta say it was really hard for me to decide whether or not to keep the security guy scene in this; but I think it's necessary. Obviously, Rogue's not perfect in this, and no angel either, and that's how I wanted to portray her. So, next chap, finally! We'll find out how our dear Gambit and Rogue got to meet. Thanks to everyone who has read and/or reviewed!**

 **Note 2: Now, guys, I swear on my hamsters' lives that this chapter had another name, and then I was rereading it for probably the 28** **th** **time before posting it, and I noticed that Rogue was eating ice cream, and then Iceman shows up and omg, I giggled about it for quite a while, thinking "this is too much, even for me". But then I thought "what the heck" and dropped the name there anyway.**

 **Note 3: HAPPY HOLIDAYS!**


	10. Chapter 10: Appetite

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men!

Chapter 10: Appetite.

Rogue was 20 when she and Remy met.

The night was clear out there in the balcony. She hurried her way among the several people that were drinking, talking or both, and made it to the intricate golden banister. She spotted the black limo immediately, at the corner of the street, and the woman getting on it, then the driver closing the door for her. Moments later, they took off.

"Rogue to Cyclops" she muttered, taking a quick look around and pressing the tiny communicator that was pinned to her little black dress.

" _Come in, Rogue."_

"W just left the building same way she arrived."

 _"Understood. Stay around for a short while and let us know if there's anything out of the ordinary. If not, your work there is done_."

"Got it. Over and out."

She had spent over four hours following this person around the big club/venue/bar/restaurant place, with no relevant results, while, at the same time, turning down the not few guys that tried to hit on her. Now, it was around 3 am and yet another alcohol-free cocktail would suit her; she hardly ever drank any liquor at all, let alone when she was on X-Men duty. So with the small purse in one hand, she headed back inside.

Big, crystal lamps gave light to the large place, where many couches and seats of all sorts, modern and antique, were scattered. More than a bar itself, it looked like someone's big luxurious mansion solely dedicated to partying.

"Hey, gorgeous." It was a blond guy this time: "I was spotting you from the other side of the room and I said to myself…"

"No."

She gave her back to him, grabbed the glass from the bartender and walked away.

However, something was different. Something had changed, from the previous dozen of men that had delivered almost identical lines during that night. She took a large sip from the pineapple drink and let its sharp sweetness dissolve in her lips, her tongue, then gradually go down her throat and leave its flavor sparkling in her mouth.

But it wasn't the drink, what had left her all tingly. It was something in the back of her mind which had, for a second, hesitated about that _no_ she had shot at him. Something that had tickled her into talking to him, because, why not? Maybe he was nice.

She continued strolling around, among the sofas and the bars, trying to hide from it, to get away from its grasp. But there was no use. Another gulp of fruits and syrup and she did the math: three months and twenty six days had passed. It had always showed up first thing in the morning, she had never been awake when it kicked in.

Guess there's always a first time.

One last little look around the place and she'd bounce out of there, before it was too late.

She avoided a small group of dancing people and went down the four or five steps of the shiny white stairs. Before, she had only taken a short glimpse at this part of the club, because the woman she was babysitting hadn't stepped a foot around here. It was the gambling area, with large casino style tables.

Yes, one last look around and she'd be gone.

People playing under the dim lights as she moved around, aware that with every step, she was becoming more and more a walking piece of danger. And there was a struggle in the pit of her stomach between the wish to stay under control, and the desire to just surrender to the unavoidable. The battle of herself against herself, wanting to run away from it, but also towards it, and embrace it and to hell with everything.

Just one more look.

Then, like drawn by invisible strings, her stare went to lie on him.

This man was sitting at the front of one of the crowded tables, while poker cards seemed to have life of their own in his hands. He shuffled and maneuvered the deck without even looking at it, apparently keeping everyone around entertained at the same time. Rogue approached a bit, to get a better look, trying to distinguish him better on the other side of this girl's big hair or that guy's shoulder. But they didn't exist, though; no one else did, they were just the pointless context of his fine-looking face with the right amount of stubble, his eyes that were something to die in, and his hair she was already picturing in between her fingers.

For some lucid instants, she knew she should leave. But then he started dealing the cards and with each of them, all of the _shouldn'ts_ and _wouldn'ts,_ and especially the _can'ts_ and _won'ts_ , faded away in thin air.

She reached a barstool that was located somewhat in his range of vision and what do you know?, right when she climbed up and crossed a leg over the other, those red orbits looked her way; it was just a moment, but as his eyes focused again on his cards and chips, she knew that smirk was intended for her. It made her heart jump with more intensity, melting in the certainty that she was desired.

As he made his bet and picked his cards, her gaze trailed once and again his strong jaw line, every move of his skilful hands and God bless the rolled up sleeves of his shirt that emphasized his built arms, another sip to try and cool down the heat that was about to make her burst. Did he look her way again? Did he just give her an almost imperceptible wink? Sure he did. How could he not?

She finished her drink and put the glass away, when it was announced that he had won the hand. Some applause, several snorts, two guys that stood up and stormed out. In spite of his good game, he left the table too.

There were people in the middle of the way, but still, she could almost feel the touch of his eyes on her skin, as he advanced closer and closer.

If he had looked magnetic from the distance, up close he was sex on legs.

"Care to play, _chere_?" he offered his hand for what she thought would be a hand shake, but instead, he placed a kiss on her knuckles. The contact of him left her floating in a current of hot shakiness.

She wanted to dare him and wrap him and tempt the hell out of him.

"If yah care to lose".

He leaned forward, resting a hand on the back of her chair so he was near, so near…

"Dunno the word." Her arms felt suddenly weak and heavy, like when you try alcohol and it starts running through your system. Except she hadn't drunk any. "Wanna go over there? Maybe we could juice it up with a little bet."

She slid her left hand from her knee up to her tight, casually, but with all the intention of driving him nuts.

"No."

He narrowed his eyes questioningly:

"'Kay, how 'bout Remy invite y' a drink?"

"No" she shook her head and there was a bit of naivety in her expression, but not in the words that followed: "We should just go somewhere else. To play."

She could have sworn his crimson pupils gleamed at the sound of this.

"Know a back door out of here" he rasped in her ear: "Shall we?"

She held on to his arm and got off the barstool.

It was heady, to walk among the people and under the different lights, the music swirling around and being with him, having formed a temporary link of two in mere minutes, apart from everyone and as a secret, a rebellion, that no one else would know. It didn't matter who he was or who she was; only the present, real and appetizing, existed.

They made it to a gloomy hallway in the back, where the noise from the partying was muffled and accompanied by nothing but the sound of their steps.

"What y' say we go to this lil' motel across the street?"

She didn't reply because something had caught her eye. She pushed a door open and entered the fanciest restroom she had ever seen, with a sort of chaise lounge in the center.

Hmmm.

There was a woman in there, though, fixing her make-up in front of a mirror.

"Get lost" Rogue told her, making the other girl frown and almost protest. Almost, because after receiving a glare and a "NOW", she promptly picked up her make-up bag and left, trying not to lose balance in her ultra high heels.

When Rogue went to lock the door from the inside, he was chuckling:

"Remy like your style, _cherie._ " He saw her turn towards him and smile what he thought was the sexiest, cheekiest smile north or south from New Orleans. Then, she shoved him hard against the wall. "Y' like it rough, don't y'?"

"Yah bet."

It was like their mouths already knew the other. She couldn't contain a moan at the feel of his hands on her body.

"Now, tell me something, _chere_ " he switched places and pressed her against the wall, now agonizingly kissing her neck, collarbone, shoulders: "Y' ain't a honey trap made up by my enemies, are y'?"

"Enemies?" she breathed. In between her fingers, his hair felt just like she had imagined it: "Well if Ah were Ah wouldn't tell yah, don't yah think?"

" _Oui_ , but gotta ask anyway, 'cause y're _trop belle_ to be true."

She closed her eyes and got lost for a while in his kiss and his touch. Good Lord, he knew what he was doing. Then, she started undoing his tie.

"What if Ah were?" she whispered, throwing the tie away: "A honey trap?"

"Then Remy die happy."

She tilted her head back and smiled widely. She liked his style too.

(…)

She placed all of her hair to a side, over her shoulder, so he could pull the back zipper of her dress all the way up.

"There, nice and tight again" he said, and with that, the dress was back in place.

"Thanks, eh… Remy, right?"

" _Mais oui,_ what gave it away?"

"Ah just guessed."

"And your name's…?"

"Rogue."

She took a look at herself in one of the round and large mirrors; her eye make-up was mostly okay but her lipstick was all over the map. So she searched inside her purse for the burgundy and tinted her lips with it again, up close to her reflection, to her own eyes that looked both familiar and strange.

And even though this taste of satisfaction flooded her body, seeing him there in the mirror, buttoning his shirt and staring at her, made her knees feel like cotton again.

"Rogue, _hein_? I like it." He was rolling his sleeves up his arms, which maybe wasn't a coincidence; this guy knew how to look good. "Think we can meet again some time?"

She hadn't expected this, but thinking about it, it wasn't a bad idea at all.

"Maybe, yeah" she pulled out her cell phone: "Gimme your number."

Usually he was the one to ask for phone numbers he'd maybe or maybe not call later on. But it seemed this Rogue girl liked to take the lead. He'd let her; it was nice, for a change.

"What about yours?" he asked, after she had saved his number and slid her phone back inside the purse.

Well, no. He wouldn't have her number, that was for sure, mainly because she didn't want to mix her actual life with this. It was already enough at home with Bobby, giving her that awkward look every once in a while. Also, she didn't want no out of place calls, or having to turn him down and then call him when she… needed him. She had to keep this under the surface, which she hadn't precisely been the best at so far, getting it on with team mates or enemies during missions, but maybe, without realizing of it and without intending it, she had found exactly what she had needed all this time: a good ol' bootie call. She'd give him what he wanted, he'd give her what she wanted, and then they'd part ways. No questions, no explanations, no need to feel guilty, because this guy was obviously used to this kind of stuff. And that was worth of notice, too: guilt? She didn't feel any right then, unlike with the other guys. In fact, she felt… great.

All of this flickered in her mind as she stood there, in front of him. She'd analyze it better in the days that followed. But with the basis of it already on mind, there was only one thing left to say:

"Ah'll call yah."

 **Note: Well guys, there it is. All I can say now is Happy New Year! I hope that 2016 brings everybody a lot of great stuff, such as Romyness and your favorite desserts. And much more. Thanks for staying tuned to these little fics of mine, that I enjoy so much writing. Next chap, hopefully up next week!**


	11. Chapter 11: Entrée

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men!

Chapter 11: Entrée.

"Wait wait wait _chere_ , hold up there for a sec" he went to lie on his stomach by her side, propped on his elbows: "Lemme see if I got this straight: Y' telling me that y' used poor… innocent…"

"Oh Gawd…"  
"…clueless Remy, for sex? Y're telling me just that?"

Technically, yes, that's exactly what she was saying. But the last thing she expected was the he would be somewhat amused by this?

"Well Ah didn't see you complain!"

"And I don't, at all! Remy can be your sex slave any time. All the time."

They both were facing the large rectangular mirror attached to the closet's door, and there she could see his messy brown hair, and her own auburn and white sex hair.

"Thank-yah" she raised a brow at the Remy in the mirror: "But, what Ah mean to say's that Ah know this is pretty weird and… doesn't it freak yah out, a little bit?"

"Freak me out? More like it turn me on-"

"Remy, no, yah don't get it! This ain't a good thing, it's made me do some pretty shitty stuff, okay?"

Another smartass remark instantly drew up on his mind, but he dismissed it. After all, she was trusting him with this.

"'Kay… alright, can imagine what y' mean."

"When Ah'm under its influence it's like… being drunk out of my mind, like my body and my brain are disconnected." Her eyes were now on the floor, wandering around shoes and clothe items. "And it's so hard to control, Ah mean, Ah've controlled it, Ah've stayed locked in my room like a sort of... animal, it's pathetic…"

" _Allons chere,_ don't say that."

"…but that's the way it is, and that's why Ah…" It'd take some extra courage to continue. However, she had gathered it and stocked it, on the preceding days; she'd just spit everything out: "Ah've never really dated much, just a few times, going out, then a little kiss and that was it, 'cause I don't wanna be dating a guy and then this thing comes and Ah might fuck another guy, yah know? It'd be wrong, that's not me, that's not something Ah wanna do..."

"Hey don't worry 'bout it" he said to her reflection in the mirror, but then turned to the real her, the one by his side: "See, Remy's willing to sacrifice himself and lock in here with y' and have sex 'til we trash this whole apartment down, how 'bout that?"

"That's gotta be the sweetest and most romantic thing anyone's ever told me."

"And I got more where that came from. See, being with someone's always a risk. But I'm sure we can make it."

She wouldn't have thought the cocky player she met at the club could ever say something like this and sound so sincere.

"Yeah… yeah, we can".

The idea that it was probably past midnight and she should call home or at least text someone, ran through her head. But briefly, too briefly, because she was feeling way too good right now. No need to spoil it with reality. In fact, now that she thought about it: this was reality, too. It felt real and comfortable and right, lying by his side and putting out there all of the burden she had carried around for so long.

"So, _chere_ , from what y've told me, I can connect the dots here and there and I can assume y'd only done it when y' were in those… days?"

She lied on her side, facing him, and got a little closer:

"Crazy, right? Ah mean, that's why Ah took some time before actually going out with yah, 'cause Ah wanted to make sure Ah wanted this. So yeah, today was sort of a… first time, in a way."

"Hmmm, I like that" he pulled her closer, placing a hand in the small of her back.

"Really? So yah don't think Ah'm a nutso?"

"Y' thought I would?"

"Are we ever gonna stop replying to questions with other questions?"

"Y' really want to?"

"Why would Ah?"

There was that smile of hers again. He could stare at it for hours, but then, it was even better to kiss the lips it belonged to.

(…)

The grocery store around the corner was a packed little place, shelves filled with food items that reached the ceiling and narrow aisles where you had to sidestep every now and then. The cashier was an old man who greeted Remy in French and said " _enchanté, mademoiselle_ " to Rogue, after making a sort of reverence. So, besides playing poker in clubs, getting it on with stranger women and stealing stuff plus causing explosions and stampedes in public places, this was a small piece of the life of this man she met when randomness became coincidence. Mutants, lovers, now French toasts ingredients shoppers.

After breakfast, they got on his bike and took off. At every turn of a street or curve of the road, she just let her body tilt to a side against his, looking at the city around them. She liked seeing his hands in those fingerless gloves, on the bike's handles; the same hands that had done most of the work with the French toasts and that had showed her (well, his hands and everything else) that it was possible to wipe away shame and regret from her little issue.

The main gates of the mansion cut the road way sooner than she expected.

"Here y' are _cherie_ , safe and sound, see? Wasn't so bad to let Remy bring y' home."

She got off the bike and went to face him:

"Yeah, it was a good _ride_."

The way she said that, raising her brows and with that hint of naughtiness, made him want to put her back on the bike and go wherever they could be alone again.

"Indeed. Probably the best."

There was no one around and the air was quite still. Only the bike's hum broke the silence.

"So…"

"So…?" he echoed, taking his sunglasses off: "When will I see y' again?"

Now that he asked…

"How 'bout tomorrow?"

"Sure, where y' wanna go?"

"Anywhere yah wanna take me."

"Alright" he agreed. How could she possible make herself even more beautiful with each thing she said? "It'll be a surprise, then. Hope y're ready."

"Always."

They both grinned at the other, acknowledging their little games.

"Pick y' up at 7?"

"Yeah, that's fine."

"'Kay, see y' tomorrow" he put the glasses back on.

"Bye" she nodded. But none of them moved.

Would it be okay to…? What the hell.

She approached for a goodbye kiss, or better, for a _see you soon_ kiss.

"Bye" she said again and gave him one last look before turning around and heading to the entrance, where she placed her thumb in a small panel that made the gates open for few moments to let her in.

" _Au revoir"_ she heard behind her back.

As she walked away, she knew he was staring at her, for the bike's sound hadn't changed its pace or intensity. But she wouldn't turn around. She wanted to leave him wanting more.

It was hard to brush away the smirk form her face, as she made it to the mansion. There was no one in the hall, and she hoped to God she wouldn't have to meet anyone in the way to her bedroom. She didn't feel like giving explanations or making stuff up.

She had reached the second floor and was starting to make her way down the hallway, when, goddamn:

"Stripes!"

She turned around slowly to the person that stomped towards her:

"Yeah?" she ventured.

"Tell me I hit my head and fucked up my vision and smell, and that that wasn't the low life we bumped into at the terminal."

Stupid security cameras, stupid Logan's senses. She'd have to roll with it.

"Yah hit your head and fucked up your vision and smell, and that wasn't the… guy we met at the terminal?"

His frown got even deeper:

"Not in the mood, Stripes."

"Okay, it's him, so what?"

"So what? Not much, only he's a criminal working for Trask who's a mutant hunter, and trust me, I know gutter trash when I smell it."

Couldn't he at least keep his voice down?

"No, no, that's not true! He took the chip from Trask to give it back to the seller, they just took his money."

Okay, saying that final part out loud didn't sound so good.

"And you believe all that crap, why? Because he told you so?"

"Well yeah! He's not… bad."

He grumbled something she couldn't make out, then continued:

"And why the hell were you with him?"

Now, that would be a long story to tell. Why was she with him? She was… they were…

"We're kind of dating."

Logan's eyes widened in something like disgust:

"You're _kind of_ dating a goddamn thief?"

"Logan, come on, Ah'm 22 years old and…"

"I don't give a damn if you're 40!" She could hear it, oh no: there were people behind her back now, coming closer: "And another thing: if that scumbag's going to drop you home at 10 in the fucking morning, he better show his face around here so I can rip it off."

After saying this, he walked away, still saying God knows what under his breath. Anyway, she felt so good, she thought this rant was actually sweet, in a way. He was just worried about her.

Now, she'd have to walk past a bunch of giggling girls:

"Woohoo!"

"Good morning, girl!"

"…how was your night?"  
"Better than ours, that's for sure".

Rogue just laughed and kept on walking, as Jean, Jubilee, Amara, Tabitha and Kitty continued teasing her.

"Oh-my-God, if you don't tell me this whole story from top to bottom" Shadowcat raised a finger: "I'm gonna totally hate you for, like, ever."

"Ah will" she lied. Sure, she could tell Kitty about Remy. But, from top to bottom, including genetically induced heats? No, thanks.

When she made it to her bedroom, she dropped her bag and jacket on Kitty's fuchsia pouf (which was hideous but at least useful) and let herself fall backwards on her bed. She stretched her arms and legs, and sighed.

 _Kind of dating_. Not bad. To begin with.

 **END.**

 **Note: Omg, I'm kind of sad about finishing this. I gotta say this chap took long to write and I'm not sure why; I knew what would happen in it, it was just a little hard to find the right way to express it. I hope it's okay like this. Also, I called this chap "entrée" because in French it means "first course" so, I though that even though this is the final chapter of this fic, they're just starting. So that's it. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing and I hope to be writing a new fic soon; actually, I have it on mind already.**


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